cameo
UK /ˈkæm.iː.əʊ/ · US /ˈkæm.i.oʊ/ noun, verb
Forms cameos cameoes camei cameoing cameoed
- noun A piece of jewelry, etc., carved in relief.
- noun A single very brief appearance, especially by a prominent celebrity in a movie or song. “Famous comic book writer Stan Lee had a cameo in the Spider-Man movie. He was on screen for perhaps ten seconds, but aficionados distinctly remember him.”
- verb To appear in a cameo role.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian cammeo, from Medieval Latin camaeus, of unknown origin. The movie sense is short for “cameo role” referring to a famous person who was playing no character, but him or herself. Like a cameo brooch — a low-relief carving of a person’s head or bust — the actor or celebrity is instantly recognizable. More recently, it has come to refer to any short appearances, whether as a character or as oneself. Doublet of camaieu.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A carving in relief, esp. one on a small scale used as a jewel for personal adornment, or like.
Etymology [It cammeo; akin to F. camée, camaïeu, Sp. camafeo, LL. camaeus, camahutus; of unknown origin.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cameo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details